GAM Holding AG Purchases 18,097 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 81.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,354 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $171.98. The stock had a trading volume of 7,364,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.92.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.